Confession of Pain (NC16)
(Tony Leung/Takeshi Kaneshiro/Shu Qi/Xu Jinglei/106 minutes)
The great thing about watching Hong Kong movies on DVD is listening to the original Cantonese audio track instead of the dubbed-over Mandarin in cinemas.
Unfortunately, in this case, the much-awaited follow-up to the excellent Infernal Affairs from directors Andrew Lau and Alan Mak falls short of the mark.
The central mystery of a gruesome murder merely serves as a device for Leung and Kaneshiro’s characters to play off against each other. However, the elements of urgency and ambiguity – so crucial to Affairs’ success – are less satisfyingly handled here.
Still, there is some joy to be had in watching the two male leads act their way out of the overwrought story.
Meanwhile, China actress-director Xu is stuck in a thankless part as Leung’s wife. Shu is the much-needed jolt of sunshine in this movie, even though her girlfriend role borders on the extraneous.
The DVD includes a 15-minute self-congratulatory making-of.
(ST)